1. Field of the Invention
The present invention broadly relates to an electrophotographic apparatus and, more particularly, to a processing head for conducting various types of processing on electrophotographic films.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrophotographic apparatus has been known in which an image is recorded in a predetermined frame of an electrophotographic film in such a manner that the recorded image can be projected or copied as desired.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,591,543, 4,600,291, 4,622,915, 4,623,240, 4,624,554 and so on disclose process heads which are adapted for effecting various treatments such as charging, exposure and developing processes on electrophotographic films.
The processing head disclosed in the above-mentioned publications has a charging/exposure section, a developing section, a drying section and a fixing section which are arranged in series in the mentioned border along the path of feed of the electrophotographic film, at a pitch or interval which corresponds to the pitch of frames on the electrophotographic film.
In the charging/exposure section, the portion of the electrophotographic film located in this section, constituting one frame, is charged and then exposed to an image light from an original, so that an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the pattern of an image carried by the original is formed in this portion of the film. The film is then fed so as to bring the exposed frame to the developing section where a liquid developer is applied to the electrophotographic film so as to develop the latent image thereby making it visible. Subsequently, the frame is brought to the drying section where drying air is blown to the electrophotographic film wetted by the liquid developer so as to remove the moisture component from the film. Finally, the frame is brought to the fixing section where the developed image is fixed to the electrophotographic film by means of, for example, a fixing lamp.
To the developing section, a developing agent is supplied while the electrophotographic film is held in close contact with the wall of the developing chamber. There is a risk that the developing agent is allowed to exude through the gap between the film and the wall of the developing chamber It is, therefore, preferred that a groove is formed around the developing chamber and the developing agent which has been made to flow out through the above-mentioned gap is made to flow into the groove and sucked by a suction means whereby surplus developing agent is removed from the developing section (see U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 06/920.336 filed on Oct. 17, 1986now U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,392.)
The above-described known arrangement suffers from a disadvantage in that the suction port for sucking and removing the developing agent from the groove tends to experience the deposition of the developing agent with the result that the suction opening is narrowed and clogged with the deposited developing agent. It is therefore necessary to periodically remove the developing agent depositing and solidified in the suction port.
In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a process head for electrophotographic film, wherein the developing agent which has come out through gap between the developing chamber and the electrophotographic film can be smoothly removed without solidification.
To this end, according to the present invention, there is provided a processing head for use in an electrophotographic apparatus and designed to feed an elongated photosensitive material so as to bring successive frames on the photosensitive material to a developing section to which a developing agent is supplied, thereby to develop images on the successive frames, the processing head comprising; guide groove means having portions disposed upstream and downstream of the developing section as viewed in the direction of feed of the photosensitive material such as to extend in the breadthwise direction of the photosensitive material, the portions having one end opened to the outside at positions outside the adjacent breadthwise end of the photosensitive material; pressurized air supply port means disposed on the opposite side of the photosensitive material to the open ends of the portions of the guide groove means and communicated with the guide groove means at a position within the breadth of the photosensitive material; and pressurized air supply means for supplying the guide groove means with pressurized air through the pressurized air supply port means.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiments when the same is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.